NGCA Ducklings Pre-School

Parent involvement has a formal place at Ducklings: its Parents Management Committee runs the pre-school, and existing parents must make up at least 60% of that committee at the annual meeting. This is a non-profit setting within Notley Green Community Association, with any operating surplus returned to the provision. Families can contribute to how it runs, as well as follow their child's day.

NGCA Ducklings Pre-School welcomes children aged two to four at the Community Centre in Great Notley, Braintree, and has 20 places in total. At its September 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good and found safeguarding effective. Morning, afternoon and full-day attendance are offered during term time.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for children's learning and care, with play helping children develop language, physical skills, relationships and independence. Ducklings' September 2025 activities give that framework a concrete shape: children manipulated dough while following music, listened to animated storytelling and experimented with water in the mud kitchen. These experiences brought movement, conversation and imaginative play into the same day.

In September 2025, the mud kitchen included coloured water and large pump containers, which children used to invent smoothies and birthday cakes. The equipment gave them something to handle and experiment with, rather than a task with only one correct result. Singing and everyday conversation also formed part of the day, although adult interactions did not consistently take children's ideas further.

Books crossed the boundary between home and pre-school. In September 2025, every child took a book bag home each week, while shared reading involved expressive voices from staff. For parents, this offered a practical way to continue a familiar activity at home. It also made reading part of the relationship between the setting and families, rather than an experience confined to the session.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor play was a daily part of the September 2025 routine. Children balanced on logs, used wheeled toys and played in a role-play building site. The combination gave them opportunities to practise movement and coordination through both physical challenges and pretend play.

Community participation extends to adults too. Friends of NGCA Ducklings, the fundraising committee, meets every other month to discuss ways to support the pre-school. Its past activities include a Sponsored Welly Walk and Textile Recycling. These are concrete routes for families who want to contribute beyond their child's attendance.

The 2026–27 calendar includes a Christmas Party on 16 December 2026 and a Summer Party on 16 July 2027. Such dates give the term-time year shared occasions alongside its regular sessions.

Relationships and Communication

In September 2025, key persons collected information about children's existing abilities and support needs when they joined. New children settled into relationships with staff, and familiar routines included recognising their own name labels. For a child adjusting to pre-school, that combination connects personal knowledge with predictable daily steps.

Independence was practised through ordinary tasks in September 2025: children dealt with shoes and aprons, managed toileting and helped themselves at mealtimes. Younger children also spent time with older peers and learned by watching them. These details matter because preparation for greater independence happens throughout the day, rather than only in a planned activity.

Tapestry is the online learning portal used to record children's experiences and development. A keyworker supplies parents with access when their child joins, allowing families to follow the learning record. It gives home and pre-school a shared point of reference for discussing what a child is doing.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the September 2025 inspection, Ofsted found children making good progress but asked leaders to sharpen progress monitoring and next-step planning, especially for children with SEND, and to improve staff interactions so play extended learning more consistently. Both points deserve attention: activities need to connect with an individual child's next steps, and adult conversation needs to develop the ideas children bring to them.

Staff training includes paediatric first aid, food allergy and intolerance training, and SEND Code of Practice training; the team also includes practitioners with Level 3 early-years qualifications.

Staff prepare snacks on a five-week menu cycle; the food policy requires individual allergy risk assessments, identifies allergens on menus and requests that families avoid bringing nuts. Children staying for lunch bring a packed lunch, while snacks remain accessible to every child regardless of whether parents make the voluntary contribution.

Sessions and Attendance

Ducklings operates Monday to Friday in term time, excluding public holidays. Morning sessions run from 9am to noon, afternoons from 12.30pm to 3.30pm, and the full day from 9am to 3.30pm. This gives families a choice between a single session and attendance spanning both sessions.

The lunch interval needs separate consideration. Children staying all day pay an additional charge for supervision during the 30-minute break, which funded hours cannot cover because it sits outside the two sessions. Staying for lunch is optional: families can collect at noon and return at 12.30pm. That arrangement changes both the day's cost and the collection routine.

Getting There

The address is Community Centre, Notley Green, Great Notley, Braintree, Essex CM77 7US. Enquiries go through the administrator by telephone or the contact form.

Funding and Paid Extras

Ducklings accepts approved FEEE funding towards children's session hours. The entitlements described include 15 hours for eligible two-year-olds and up to 30 hours for eligible working parents; Ducklings itself accepts children from two to four, so the wider funding age range does not extend its intake to babies. Attendance is term-time.

Private sessions are charged, and current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Packed lunches come from home; a separate voluntary contribution supports snacks, with no child excluded when it is unpaid. For funded attendance, the lunch-supervision charge remains separate from the entitlement, as does the voluntary snack contribution.

• Lunch between sessions. Funded hours cannot cover the optional lunch-supervision interval. Decide whether staying for lunch or collecting and returning fits your family's routine.
• Individual learning plans. September 2025 improvement points concerned precise next steps, especially for children with SEND, and adult interactions during play. At a visit, ask how these changes work for a child with your child's needs.
• Allergy arrangements. The food policy combines individual risk assessments with allergen information and a request to avoid nuts. Families managing allergies should confirm current practice for both packed lunches and snacks.
• Parent participation. Existing parents hold a required majority on the management committee, and the fundraising committee meets every other month. Consider whether you want to take part in either aspect of the pre-school's work.

Ducklings suits families seeking term-time morning or afternoon sessions, as well as those wanting a full day with an optional supervised lunch. Its parent-led structure and Tapestry learning record give families practical ways to participate and stay connected. The September 2025 learning examples offer useful substance, from home book bags to water experiments and log balancing. The key consideration is how individual planning and adult interactions now address the improvement points, especially where a child needs additional support.